Mitchell senior Hudson Boone found himself in unfamiliar territory during summer workouts.

His position as returning all-conference lineman had stayed the same, but he noticed more players began looking to him for guidance.

"I've had to step up in a way I've never had to before," Hudson said. "Before we had a player like (quarterback) Ben Young, and that's where people looked for leadership. Now, without him, it's up to the rest of us to pick up the slack."

Young graduated from Mitchell in the spring, ending a four-year high school career that amassed 11,551 total yards and 144 touchdowns.

The Mitchell high school football team runs out of their tunnel onto the field before their game ...more

The Mitchell high school football team runs out of their tunnel onto the field before their game against Robbinsville Friday. November 24, 2017.

Matt Burkhartt/mburkhartt@citize

"You can't just replace that," Hudson said.

At Mountain Heritage, they're dealing with a similar issue.

Gone is senior quarterback Trey Robinson, who finished his career with a WNC record of 12,933 total yards and 170 touchdowns.

For the past three years, Robinson and Young dominated the Western Mountain Highlands Conference. Mitchell and Mountain Heritage were co-conference champions in 2015 and 2016 and the Cougars won the outright title last year with the Mountaineers finishing in second place.

This year, other conference teams hope to reverse that trend.

"The conference feels more wide open," Polk County junior running back Bryson Seay said. "I think other teams feel lik.e there is a chance to win a conference title again."

Polk County must replace its own standout in departed senior Dillon Overholt, who was the team's leading passer and second-leading rusher and receiver last season.

The Wolverines will also enter the 2018 season with heavy hearts after the death of senior receiver Markell Lipscomb, who died in a car crash in July.

"We miss him every day," Seay said. "We're playing for him this season."

Polk County looks to be a dark horse contender for a conference title, although other conference players believe Mountain Heritage is still the team to beat after outscoring WHC opponents 239-77 in 2017.

The Mitchell Mountaineers defeated the Polk County Wolverines 25-7 in their game at Polk County ...more

The Mitchell Mountaineers defeated the Polk County Wolverines 25-7 in their game at Polk County High School on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017.

Angeli Wright/awright@citizen-times.com

"They still feel like the favorite going into this year considering how they beat all of us last year," Owen senior Audun Meyers said. "But it feels a lot closer than it has in the past."

The Warhorses have suffered through three consecutive 1-9 seasons, but Meyers said improvement is on the horizon.

"There is a lot of frustration for us, especially the seniors," Meyers said. "We have a lot of motivation to make things better."

The conference also has new blood among the coaching ranks with both Madison and Avery County entering the season with new names at the helm.

Avery County participates in the WNC FCA 7 on 7 competition at Erwin High July 10, 2018.

Avery County participates in the WNC FCA 7 on 7 competition at Erwin High July 10, 2018.

Angela Wilhelm/awilhelm@citizentimes.com

Kyle Hutchinson was hired to take over Madison’s football team in late May. Mac Bryan took over Avery County’s football program in February.

Neither program has had a winning season since 2012.

"It's hard to have to learn a new offense and defense," Madison senior lineman Colby Arnett said. "But we feel like we have a good thing going here. It feels like we're close to making some real noise in the conference."

Miller will play a big role in Mitchell’s Wing-T offense, returning as the team’s second-leading rusher and their top defensive back. Miller finished his 2017 season with 74 tackles, including 10 for a loss.

Breakdown:

Graduation hit Mitchell particularly hard this off-season, most notably with the loss of four-year starting quarterback Ben Young, who finished his historic career with 11,551 total yards and 144 touchdowns. The Mountaineers will only have seven seniors and nine returning starters on their 30-man roster, and coach Travise Pittman said the key to success will be to “avoid the injury bug.” Junior Noah Pittman takes over at the quarterback position after rushing for 782 yards as a sophomore and will run the offense behind all-conference lineman Hudson Boone and Matthew Gilbert. Junior Tyler McKinney (15 catches, 196 yards) returns as the teams’ leading receiver and will have big shoes to fill, replacing Brody Smith and Jesse Pittman, who combined for over 1,300 receiving yards in 2017.

Meyers returns as Owen’s likely starting quarterback after passing for more than 1,000 yards and, according to his coach, is the team leader “on and off the field” and the type of player to build a program around.

Breakdown:

Owen returns 14 starters from the 2017 team, which, for the third straight season finished 1-9. Improvements have been incremental under coach Nathan Padgett, but 2018 looks to be his most talented team in a conference that seems more wide open than usual. Audun Meyers (76-160, 1,037 yards, 15 TDs, 13 INTs) returns at quarterback but may split time with rising sophomore Caleb Scott, who looks to play a bigger role in the offense this season. Otis Mallory, an all-conference player last year, makes the move from defensive end to linebacker and looks to improve on his 79- tackle season in 2017. Mallory and incoming junior Caleb Wells will play together at the running back position. Top receivers Ty Davidson and Frank Walsh return after combining for 47 catches and 751 yards.

Gray returns as the only WNC quarterback with more than 1,000 yards rushing and passing from the 2017 season. He'll need similar numbers again in 2018 to help his team make a conference title push.

Breakdown:

Kyle Hutchinson was hired to take over Madison’s football team in late May, the final hire during an offseason that saw coaching turnover in five WNC programs. He’s tasked with turning around a team that has gone without a winning season since 2012, when the Patriots finished 13-2 and advanced four rounds into the playoffs. Hutchinson will lean heavily on senior leadership, which includes 1,000-yard passer and rusher Clark Gray as well as Elan Littrell, who returns as the team’s top receiver with 35 catches for 403 yards and 256 rushing yards. Colby Arnett returns as the teams’ leading tackler (58 tackles) and will anchor a young defense that returns only four starters from 2017.

Sutton returns as the conference’s second-leading rusher with 1,293 yards and 12 touchdowns and will rush behind an experienced offensive line. He also returns as a top kickoff return specialist in the area.

Breakdown:

Polk County has not won a conference title since 2013, but with the departure of players like Mountain Heritage’s Trey Robinson and Mitchell’s Ben Young, the Wolverines have their best chance in the past five years. They return 13 starters from the 2017 team that went two rounds deep in the playoffs, which includes senior Avery Edwards (371 yards, 3TDs, 4 INTs), who took over at quarterback near the end of the season. Senior Elijah Sutton returns at running back after rushing for more than 1,200 yards and will run behind all-conference senior lineman Luke Sellers, who garnered an offer from Lenoir-Rhyne during the summer. All-conference defensive lineman junior Bryson Seay will anchor the defense after producing 10 sacks and 28 tackles for a loss as a sophomore.

Virnelson returns as the conference lineman of the year, finishing the 2017 season with 107 tackles and 21 tackles for a loss on defense and 36 pancakes on offense.

Breakdown:

The big question mark for Mountain Heritage leading into the 2018 season is how to fill the role of graduated senior quarterback Trey Robinson, who finished his career with a WNC record of 12,933 yards and 170 total touchdowns. With Robinson off to college at East Tennessee State, it will take a team effort to make up for his offensive output. Junior Callin Randolph has been tabbed as the Cougars’ new quarterback in the Spread Wing-T offense after playing the position at the JV level last year. Coach Joey Robinson said that, “no one is expecting him to be the next Trey; we just want him to be Callin.” Senior Jake Autry will take over at running back with the departure of Dathan Robinson (1,479 yards, 13 touchdowns). Leading the defense with be senior linebacker London Neill (134 tackles) and lineman Zeb Virnelson.

After leading the Vikings in receiving (705 yards) and finishing as the team’s second-leading rusher (519 yards), senior Sam McCollum takes over at the quarterback position which was held by his brother, Van McCollum, last year.

Summary:

Mac Bryan took over Avery County’s football program in February and has quickly set big goals for his new team. Bryan said the challenge for his program has been the learning curve, after implementing a spread offense which will be led by Sam McCollum at quarterback. The other challenge will be depth. Bryan said he hopes to have 55 to 60 players in his program over the next few years, but currently has 35 total on JV and varsity. Senior linebacker Cole Singleton (92 tackles) returns as the teams’ leading tackler and should be the anchor of the defense along with defensive back Tyree Jackson and linebacker Lucas Andrews.